Will you be posting impressions later so we can experience the awesomeness vicariously?
Sooo, here we go:
I didnt check out much in the Indie corner, because the Indie corner is mostly already released or relatively uninteresting games. I got in really early though and managed to sneak into the Oculus booth and check out all 3 games (They were quick to point me toward the exit after I played one of the demos, but I sneakily walked to all 3 demo stations and tried all of them, because there was not much going on for a few minutes).
3 demos: Super Hot, A Mario style 3D game, a diving game
The diving game was a dud. My sincere sympathies for anyone who chose the diving game, which was a 3 minute demo in a really small environment where you basically couldnt do much other than swim to a small plane in the see and swim around it. Kinda cool to look around, but utterly failed as a tech demo.
The jump&run was more interesting and surprisingly well made. Basically a carbon copy of the mario games, but some cool elements that were swinging back and forth and when the camera moved around the map, I actually felt like my body was moving forward, which was kinda cool and creepy at the same time. Motion tracking for throwing bombs, otherwise standard jump&run controls, but the diorama style 3D games are pretty interesting in their own right. Unfortunately, the lowish resolution was incredibly obvious in this game, which annoyed me heavily. Funnily enough, I didnt have that issue in the other two demos.
SUPER HOT. SUPER. HOT. Easily the best demo, but unfortunately rather short as well. They chose a 2 stage demo in the environment with the shattered glass on the right side and some dudes standing behind it. In the first level, they had guns, and you had to evade the normal shot bullets until the middle of the room, where you grab the gun and then shoot people in the head. The second level was the same layout, but with a shotgun dude in the middle, who was shooting multiple unpredictable projectiles, which made the level a lot more interesting since you needed to plan and evade the projectiles more carefully. The 3D integration in Super Hot was the best I could imagine, since Super Hot requires you to actively look at and follow the path of a projectile. Seeing those in 3D, and seeing them zip past your head (I stood there quite a few times, just looking around me and seeing the bullets fly) was really, really damn impressing. There are a few issues with that though, as you dont have a "head", which a few times made it really hard to figure out whether a bullet might hit you or not. Technically, the normal game has the same problem, but in 3D I was more "in the action", which made it seem a bit more jarring if my head wasnt fine with what happened in front of my eyes, I guess. So yeah, game is looking great mechanically, challenging with plenty of stuff that other games havent done in that way yet, 3D and head tracking is an actual gameplay feature that helps you playing the game and I didnt have any weird resolution issues. Very fun stuff.
Oh and the best moment:
A bullet came towards me, but I was rather sure I would dodge it, so I didnt care much about that particular bullet. Then, the bullet hit a vase, shattered the vase and changed its projectory. I instinctly ducked (like actual real life ducking), because the bullet surprised and seemed to threaten me instinctively. That was my "3D works"- moment.
Overall, I was a bit underwhelmed by the 3D in general, because it didnt feel as mindblowing as I hoped it would be. But I guess that works in favor of the tech, as it probably felt more "natural" than mindblowing, especially in the first person demos. Oh one other thing: I am heavily affected by motion sickness usually, and this version of the Rift didnt affect me! Huge surprise for me, and very very cool, which means I am now definitely also in the market of a 3D headset.
Bonus:
) really made realize why I like the NeoGAF community so much. Compared to every other forum I've been on, GAF has a communal atmosphere that none of the others had. Sure you have some jerks, but for the most part, the members here have been friendly, generous, and just cool people. It says something when some people have been members for 10 years and are still posting here. And of course IndieGAF is the best
